Ideology is one of the most controversial and dynamic concepts in philosophy, political theory, aesthetics, and literary theory. The theoretical interest in this concept has recently been seriously renewed, so that understanding it is now imperative.

Terry Eagleton's classic textbook is an essential tool for both students and professors in the field of humanities and social studies. It provides a critical presentation of the history of the concept of ideology and the basic theories about it, from the Enlightenment era to the present day. It eloquently discusses the key thinkers of Marxism, but also relates ideology to the thought of other philosophers and intellectuals, such as Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Freud, and the theorists of transmission.